WestJet (TSX: WJA) is an iconic Canadian brand. The country’s second largest airline is continually recognized as one of the top employers in the country and one of Canada’s most admired corporate cultures.

Founded in Calgary, Canada in 1996 as a regional, low-cost carrier with three aircraft and 220 employees, WestJet has experienced momentous growth. Today, WestJet is a thriving international airline operated by 12,000 employees, collectively known as WestJetters. Through scheduled flights across an expanding network, WestJet also operates WestJet Vacations, providing air, hotel, car and excursion packages, and WestJet Encore, a regional airline operating in Canada and the United States. WestJet continues to grow into new territory, with imminent plans to launch an ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC) Swoop, and open access to new markets with the recent orders of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

Mission of the Role
As WestJet grows and expands, the Guest Experience department is in an integral role to position the company for the global market. A key component of growth is the training and development of our frontline teams as we prepare to enter into service our first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The Director, Guest Experience contributes to the overall success of the Guest Experience department, ensuring specific individual goals, plans, initiatives are executed / delivered in support of the team’s business strategies and objectives. The Director, Guest Experience is responsible for driving the strategic development, execution, and general management of a scalable and sustainable guest experience and training framework to support WestJet’s 2022 vision.

The individual will work closely with senior members of the team to ensure that WestJet has one cohesive service message that is aligned to our brand and image, our guest promises, and reflect the WestJet attitude.

The Director, Guest Experience works closely with leaders and the management team to proactively identify learning and performance gaps, and to lead a team to provide tailored solutions to further the strategic goals of the business. His/her mandate encompasses the entire learning function for the frontline staff including the analysis of learning needs, the creation of a learning strategy and subsequent plans, learning program design, delivery, measurement, and subsequent reporting. A voice for both our internal and external guest groups, this role will focus on ensuring our guests are experiencing our brands’ value at every touchpoint.

Strategic Leadership
• Provide strategic leadership in creating and continually evolving WestJet’s service offerings, delivery and execution of the Guest Experience
• Work closely with internal team and/or outside consultancies in the development of the Guest promises relative to the Guest Experience
• Lay out the end-to-end Guest experience and creatively derive services which will be consistent with the brand and provide value added to our Guests
• Develop cutting edge Guest feed-back data gathering and tracking tools to gauge effectiveness of service and design components on overall satisfaction
• Benchmark the airline’s Guest satisfaction with key competitors and derive strategic plans for service enhancements
• Influence to the extent possible, the envisioned delivery of all products and services which the airline will introduce
• Present overall leadership and accountability to marketing and other departmental owners for Guest Care issues, service level monitoring and new product deployment

Training & People Development
• Develop the Guest Experience training strategy and framework for all frontline departments to address the ongoing needs of both the business and our employees
• Interface with external WestJet teams to ensure industry-leading service processes, training design, and guest-focused strategies
• Develop and maintain a knowledge management framework using a variety of employee intranet portals, databases, and business process documentation repositories
• Develop and administer a knowledge assessment program to continuously evaluate training needs on an ongoing basis
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement by establishing and maintaining a high performing team where new ideas and solutions are encouraged, evaluated, quantified, and implemented
• Interact regularly with the executive team and individual department heads to ensure that each department’s learning needs are met
• Provide leadership and coaching while fostering a culture of accountability, professional development, high performance, and guest-focus

Financial Leadership
• Assume full budget responsibility for the Guest Experience department, and lead the development of innovative execution of programs, constantly improving the guest experience at WestJet
• Meet financial objectives by estimating requirements, preparing an annual budget, scheduling expenditures, analyzing variances

EDUCATION
• A post-secondary certificate or degree in a hospitality-related field is required.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE/QUALIFICATIONS
• Previous experience leading Entry into Service teams (onboard service training, product introduction & innovation, etc) for Boeing 787 aircraft;
• 5+ years of senior leadership experience of a Guest service portfolio and team of professional staff in a global, full service airline with strong brand recognition;
• 5+ years of experience in strategic Guest Experience roles, including oversight the learning function of front line Guest Experience staff; and
• Direct accountability for directing annual financial and workplace planning, including budget and forecasting for a department.

CHARACTERISTICS
• Guest Orientation: Uncanny sensitivity to the guest and a focus on understanding motivators/triggers of guest behavior; Proven track record of delivering appealing and Guest focused solutions
• Innovator: Has a proven track record of championing, setting up and delivering innovative new technologies, products and services; a disruptive thinker.
• Problem Solver: A non-linear thinker who can conceptualize laterally, not literally; has a sense of customer orientation and the ability to analyze pain points and create solutions.
• Achiever: Gets things done by setting clear expectations, promoting high levels of accountability, monitoring performance, and getting directly involved when needed to achieve desired business results; uses business and financial acumen to create value and drive profitability.
• Evaluator: Makes timely decisions and applies sound judgment to assess risks, evaluate alternatives and select the best course of action; uses a combination of analytical thinking, intuition, mental agility, and seasoned experience to address complex or ambiguous issues.
• Strategist: Uses foresight, environmental awareness and thought leadership to create a compelling vision for the future and develop distinctive strategies to achieve desired business outcomes; fosters new ways of thinking and drives needed change to transform the business.

COMPENSATION

A competitive compensation package will be negotiated based on experience and qualifications.
This position is eligible for a performance bonus as per WestJet’s compensation policy and the Total Rewards program that includes the following: extended health, emergency travel medical, dental, vision, short-term disability (STD), long-term disability (LTD), life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) & travel benefits. This position is also eligible for relocation assistance.

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